The overall goal of MT INBRE Ill's Research Core (RC) is to build a statewide, interdisciplinary research network to address significant health issues among Montana's rural and tribal communities. Through close collaboration with MT INBRE Ill's Administrative, Community Engagement, and Bioinformatics Cores, the RC will provide opportunities for investigators across the network to develop research programs focused on infectious diseases, environmental health, and health disparities. The goals of these programs include not only developing successful research projects but also sustaining them for the long term. Additionally, the RC will be invested in the successful career trajectory of the Project Leaders (PLs) themselves and in the pipeline development of the students working with them in their research. In order to realize its goals, the RC will contribute to accomplishing all four of the specific aims of the MT INBRE III program: Aim 1: Strengthen Montana's biomedical and bioinformatics infrastructure through continued development of shared facilities, research collaborations, focused working groups, and training opportunities; Aim 2: Develop a continuous pipeline for Montana Native and non-Native students to careers in health research and increase the scientific arid technological knowledge of the state's workforce; Aim 3: Mentor and develop health disparities investigators in the social and behavioral sciences and partner them with infectious disease and environmental health investigators to sustain and grow an interdisciplinary biomedical research network; and Aim 4: Develop and support sustainable research initiatives by MT INBRE III network investigators that will mitigate health disparities in Montana's rural and Native American communities.